1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments described herein relate generally to systems and methods for visual gaze tracking. More specifically, one or more embodiments relate to systems and methods for providing content and analytics based on user visual gaze information.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Content providers and advertisers use tracking information to determine interests of viewers to provide content and advertisements that interests the viewers. Because advertisers provide a major source of revenue for content providers (e.g., television and video streaming content providers), content providers try to provide content that will maintain or increase viewer interest. Increasing viewer interest in content, increases the likelihood that viewers will continue watching during advertisements or from one piece of content to another (e.g., from one show to the next).
Tracking actual viewer interest in a particular content item can be difficult. In particular, many conventional tracking techniques rely on user inputs that do not truly indicate a user interest in the content. For example, conventional tracking techniques that track mouse clicks or touch selections of content or advertisements can be unreliable and deceiving. Mouse clicks and touch selections can be unintentional, and therefore, may not accurately reflect that the user is interested in the content or advertisement. Similarly, set-top boxes that many conventional systems use to determine how many viewers are watching a particular television presentation can only determine whether the television is tuned to a specific channel, but cannot determine whether the viewer is interested in commercials or advertisements presented with the presentation.
Additionally, conventional tracking systems and content providing systems are typically unable to determine how much interest an individual user has in the content. For example, conventional systems can determine that a user has viewed or is viewing a particular content item, but are unable to determine whether the user is very interested, mildly interested, or only has a passing interest in the content item. Thus, while conventional systems can obtain useful information for determining which content and/or advertisements to provide to viewers for maximizing interest, and therefore revenue, many content providers and advertisers may have difficulty providing targeted content and/or advertisements that most likely attract the interest of individual users.
These and other disadvantages may exist with respect to tracking user interests for providing advertisements or content.